It is well established that proper oral care is important for general health. A first or primary routine is effective cleaning of the teeth surfaces. This can be done with various oral care appliances, although power toothbrushes have been proven to produce superior results. One such appliance is the Sonicare® toothbrush, manufactured by Philips. Such an appliance is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 7,067,945.
A secondary oral care routine is proper care/cleansing of the interproximal spaces and the gums. This is typically accomplished by flossing. However, flossing has proven to be problematic for most users. As an alternative, various appliances have been developed, including an alternative flossing device using a liquid/air spray or jet. However, it is recognized that a user can readily forget or neglect to use such an appliance due to time constraints or other concerns. Further, such devices typically do not provide any direct encouraging feedback for successful use and regular use often declines without such feedback.
Accordingly, it is desirable to provide such a flossing appliance with the capability of regularly reminding the user to use the appliance.